Empty: The Aftermath
by Cherubic Sasami
Summary: Duo goes into denial about Heero's death.. That's all I can say without giving away the plot. This is the sequel to my former fic "Empty", so if you haven't read that... GO READ IT, NOW!!!! (ahem) Thank you and don't forget to review. Oh, btw, rated PG1
1. Part 1

Legal: I own none of this and have no money, so there.  
  
Author's note/dedication: Because this is the sequel to "Empty" you probably won't understand it if you don't read said fic. So go read it, now! Ok, everyone else still here? (sound of crickets chirping) Anyone still here?! Oh well... Anyway, big thanks to everyone that reviewed, gave suggestions, and especially asked for a sequel. I'd especially like to thank all the crazed-er... angry- no that's not right, oh well, all the Yuy fangirls who went into tears after reading the first one, this one is definitely for you guys! ^_~  
  
Empty: The Aftermath  
  
Months had passed since the OZ base incident, but Duo still found himself lying awake at night, half expecting to hear Heero walk through the door. Alas, night after night, silence ensued. Trowa, Quatre and even Wufei had tried to comfort the frightened pilot, but to no avail. The more they'd tried to bring ease to his soul, the more Heero's last words echoed through his mind. "Don't be sad... I'm finally going to be free..." The words repeated in an intoxicating chant, blocking out the kind words of his close comrades. Finally, he'd just about given up on his hopes of Heero's return, when...  
  
*~*~*  
  
Again, he heard it: the sound of incessant tapping. Rat-tat tat, rat-tat tat, as if someone was beckoning him to the window. Duo stood up from his bed, but sat down again, anticipating disappointment. So many times, he'd heard these same sounds, and so many times he'd found, not Heero, but instead, the flower-bare cherry tree calling him with its luring chime.   
Covering his face with a black bed sheet, he feverishly wiped his tear soaked face. 'I'm such a child. Real men don't cry. Real men stand tall.' He tried to convince himself of this, but it only made more tears rise to his bloodshot, lilac eyes. The tapping continued, faster and harder than before. 'Damn tree, leave me alone. Stop trying to trick me into thinking he's coming back! That day is over!'   
Duo shivered as he remembered the tone of Heero's voice, the words he'd cried out in his agony, the bone-chilling stare he'd given Duo when he first saw him. 'I guess... I guess it's my turn to cry now.' He forced a nervous laugh. 'To think, the great Shinigami crying over death. Imagine the irony.'   
Suddenly, he heard the crash of shattering glass and turned just in time to catch the large rock that followed. 'What the hell is going on?' Upon quick examination of the rock, however, he discovered a small note attached by a piece of tape. With a shrug he opened the folded sheet of paper and read the terse note. There, in Heero's fancy scriptural handwriting read:  
  
I live.  
  
Horrified beyond belief, Duo threw the paper to the ground and jumped back in his bed like a skittish dog. 'How? How could he be alive? Besides, if he really is alive, why doesn't he come and talk to me? What kind of fucked up joke is this?!' The Deathscythe pilot's mind spun with a thousand questions he knew could and would never be answered. Seeking salvation, he left his room, leaving the crumpled note on the floor.   
  
*~*~*  
  
Quatre looked up to see Duo descend the staircase, slowly, as if fearing that the next step may be his last. Shifting his gaze back to his teacup, Quatre shivered as he remembered that same, startled look Heero had given him all those many months ago. 'Those eyes, Heero and Duo's bright eyes used to be so full of passion, so expressive. They lit this house and brought life to everyone here. Everything just seems so dark anymore without those eyes.' He nervously put the cold porcelain to his lips, but did not permit any of the lukewarm liquid to seep into his mouth.   
Setting the cup gently down on the table, he turned his attention to Trowa, who seemed to be suddenly fascinated by Wufei's fifth pot of coffee. 'He hasn't spoken much since he brought Duo back on that day.' He'd told Quatre and Wufei what'd happened in brief detail, but otherwise had been very detached, even more so than usual.   
After what seemed to be an eternity, Duo reached the bottom of the stairs and sat at the table. For a second, it looked like Wufei was going to say something, but he closed his mouth and the silence continued. No one said anything or even looked at each other. 'It's as if time is standing still,' Quatre reflected as he shifted his gaze from his teacup to Duo and back again.   
Suddenly, something within the complex labyrinth of Duo's tortured mind must have snapped. "Damn it! I can't take this anymore! Somebody, say something! I'm tired of feeling like I'm the only person here!" Thrashing about he knocked Quatre's porcelain cup off the table, shattering it and spilling the brown liquid on the ceramic tile. Whether it was from the clatter or simply mental repair, Duo recomposed himself and leaned back in his wooden chair. "I'm sorry," he whimpered, grasping his face with his quavering hands, "I haven't been myself lately."  
No one complained, but quietly picked the ivory porcelain off the floor and ignored the staining Earl Grey. In the absence of his treasured china, Quatre found himself looking over at Duo as he continued with his nervous breakdown. 'There was a time that I thought I almost fully understood Duo, but now, I barely understand what keeps him from full insanity. Is he so naïve to think that Heero is really coming back? No, Duo's a soldier and the self-proclaimed God of Death at that; he should certainly understand that Heero's... gone. And,' tears welled at the edge of Quatre's eyes, 'and he's not coming back.' Quatre pulled away to hide his weak, emotional outburst. As many times as he'd seen people come and go, it still hurt him deep inside. He was about to leave, when he heard the soft, crackling voice of Duo beckon him back.  
"Quatre," his rasping voice whispered. "Quatre, please don't leave. I don't mean to be this way. It's... It's just hard, you know? One minute, he's there, typing away at that damn laptop of his, and the next..." He trailed off. It was unnecessary for him to finish; his audience knew the rest.   
So Quatre sat back down. Hoping to start up a conversation, he found himself asking, "Do you still believe?"   
Startled by the question, Duo paused and nodded vacantly. "He's out there, he has to be. Heero isn't the kind of guy to uselessly throw his life away like that." It was difficult to say, but it had to be expressed.   
'I know it'll be rough,' Quatre's mind began to stir, 'but I have to convince him of the truth: Heero is gone, and nothing we can say or do will change that.' "How can you be sure? He did tend to be quite stubborn about completing his missions."  
A faint twitch of Duo's eyebrow showed his true answer. He couldn't be sure, but that never stopped him from believing, especially after... "I have proof," he blurted out spontaneously.  
There was a brief moment of silence before Trowa, being rather interested interrupted with, "What kind of proof?"   
  
*~*~*  
  
Trowa examined the paper again. 'It does seem like Heero's handwriting, but how could that be? I saw the explosion and I never saw Heero escape. Besides, if he were truly alive, wouldn't he have taken his Gundam with him instead of leaving it for the enemy to take? I'd like to believe that he really is out there, but the chances are highly unlikely.' He turned to Duo, who waited intently for reassurance. 'This isn't going to be easy for him, especially with this supposed evidence.' He sighed. 'How do you tell someone their closest ally isn't coming back?'   
"So," Duo chimed like an anxious child, "what can you tell from the note?"   
Trowa stood in silence for a moment before replying harshly, "You can't tell much from two words written on an ordinary piece of paper."  
That was obviously not the answer Duo wanted to hear, and he expressed his discontent by starting on yet another crying fit. "Damn it, why does everything have to haunt me like this?" Wufei made something resembling an uncomfortable growl, causing Duo to shoot him a glare. "Why don't you just say it, Wufei? Go ahead! Tell me how weak and stupid I am for crying like this! What are you, a cow-" He was stopped, mid-sentence, by a hard smack to the cheek from the Chinese pilot.  
When he recovered, Duo could see the pain reflected Wufei's dark, onyx eyes. "I'm sorry," he tried to explain. "I didn't mean for it to hurt. It's obvious you're hurting enough as it is."  
"It's ok, I needed it." Duo held his cheek, but didn't object to the shooting pain.  
"You do understand, however, that you're not the only person to ever feel such loss."  
Duo nodded. Everyone in the room had had at least one major loss in their lives, already. Adding another to their lists was not any easier.  
"Come on," Wufei coaxed. "You need to get out of this barren hell hole you call a room and do something."  
  
*~*~*  
  
It took quite a while for Duo's eyes to adjust to the bright sun. He hadn't been outside since 'that day'. He'd never been sure as to why, but the bright light had reminded him of all the fun times he'd had with Heero and the rest of the group; of memories he knew he could never recreate. "To go back in time, to live in those sweet moments for all eternity, it would be bliss," he whispered to himself, assuming Wufei wasn't listening as he drove his sturdy Honda Accord down the long, country roads.   
"You can't live in the past," Wufei replied, never taking his eyes off the road ahead. "Memories are treasured because they're special. If you lived the same day, no matter how perfect that day seemed at first, you'd grow tired of hearing the same words, feeling the same breezes; it just wouldn't be the same."  
Duo said nothing, just nodded in response and stayed silent till Wufei stopped the car at their destination: Yung's Bayside Fish Market. "What are we doing here?"  
"I thought I'd make my special Szechwan fish soup for dinner, unless you have any objection."   
Duo shook his head vigorously. 'Why is Wufei being so nice all of a sudden? I don't get it. The old Wufei would've never made special dinners or even offer to take me anywhere, for that matter.' Wufei walked inside and motioned for Duo to follow.   
Though the outside of the shop looked like a friendly, kichy shore shop, the inside resembled something similar to a sacrificial war zone for sea creatures. Row after row of dead fishes hung from the wooden rafters of the shabby shack. Frozen shrimp and clams lay in webbed bags like a thousand finches crammed into a single cage. Still, in the middle of it all stood the lone merchant, long, shabby, brown hair covering his eyes and face.   
"What's your order?" his agitated voice snapped.  
Leaving Duo standing in the doorframe, Wufei walked up and gave his order. "One and a half pounds of crab, 2 fillets of Orange Ruffy, and a bag each of scallops and shrimp." As the man left to fill the order, Wufei could hear the slow, creeping footsteps of the American pilot coming up from behind him.  
"Wufei," Duo whispered in his ear. "That guy, doesn't he look like Heero?"  
  
*~*~*  
  
Oi! Cherubic Sasami here! Again, dividing it into 2 parts at the cliff hanger, just to drive you crazy!! I hope you like it so far. I'll be back later at the end. Ja ne!  



	2. Part 2

Legal: I still own nothing.  
  
Empty: The Aftermath, Part 2  
  
Wufei could not believe his ears. 'This is worse than I expected. Duo's begun to see Heero's face everywhere.' Then again, Wufei had no solid proof that the grumpy store manager wasn't their missing friend. 'This charade has got to stop. I've got to prove to him that this man is not Heero.'   
For his size, the wiry clerk could carry the whole order with ease. "That'll be $24.50."  
Wufei pulled out his wallet, but as he laid the payment down on the counter, he casually added, "Sir, what is your name?"  
The man gave him a glare that could kill an ocean of fish. "What's it to you?"  
"It was just a question. So I reiterate, what is your name?"  
The man paused, as if trying to recollect, and growled, "Hiroshi Yung."  
Wufei turned back to the defeated Duo. "Sorry, Duo."  
"It's okay. It was just a whim."  
Smiling slightly, Wufei led Duo to the door, only turning back to take a second look at the now preoccupied clerk. "H... Y... Heero Yuy..."  
At the sound of that name, Hiroshi twitched slightly. 'Heero?' Wufei had to wonder. 'Is that really him?' "Duo, go ahead to the car, I'll be right back," he called back to the dejected pilot. 'Why the big cover-up? It just doesn't add up.' He shrugged. 'But if finding Heero will bring the old Duo back, it'll be well worth it... I must admit, I even miss how loud and obnoxious he used to be.'  
He could sense the clerk grow tense as he approached. Hiroshi made no suspicious movement, but Wufei could pick up a nervous aura from the grumpy shopkeeper. "Heero Yuy," he growled with a smile as he sauntered toward the counter. "You thought you'd had us for a moment there, didn't you?"  
Hiroshi's breath began to grow faster and Wufei thought he heard the man's heart beat with frightened vigor. "I don't know what you're talking about. I've never heard that name before."  
Wufei smiled, exposing his gleaming canines. Even if this man wasn't Heero, it brought him great pleasure watching him quaver like a child at midnight. "The long hair, the shabby getup, even Duo could see right through it all." He placed his hands on the counter in an intimidating fashion. "So, why don't you just give it up and come back with us?"  
The man paused, then quickly dashed out the door. Pretty confident that he would achieve justice, Wufei chased him like a hound after its quarry: with quick stride and primal eyes. They ran down the wooden back steps, along the short boardwalk and finally came to a halt at the end of pier. Hiroshi glanced out onto the water, and appeared like he might jump, but stopped and turned to look at Wufei instead. "Fine, you caught me. Are you happy now?" Hiroshi grumbled, pulling his hair out of his face to reveal two, shining, Prussian eyes.   
  
*~*~*  
  
Heero sighed. 'I was stupid to let down my guard. I just assumed they'd never try to find me.'  
"Why?" Wufei asked, glaring at the exposed cobalt eyes of his former comrade.  
"Why what?" Heero knew damn well what Wufei wanted to know, but still refused to give him any unnecessary information.   
"Why didn't you come back? Why the big cover-up?" Wufei paused. "Why did you have to torture Duo like you did?"  
Heero recoiled slightly. 'What does he mean 'torture Duo'? Did my supposed death really mean that much to him?' Looking back at Wufei, he knew he'd have to answer each question in full at the risk of being sent to a watery grave.   
"I guess I should start by telling you what happened during and after the explosion." He sighed. "After I knocked Duo out, I made a run back to the control room, intending to seal my fate there. But as the clock continued to count down, I began to doubt the purpose to my mission; something I'd never done before. All I could think of was Duo and his incessant attempts to save my life. If the God of Death were trying to save me, my life must have some sort of purpose, right? To reassure myself that I was going ahead with this mission, I made a statement over the intercom telling Duo to go on with out me, but deep inside," his voice grew soft, "I wished he'd come back and save me."  
"That still doesn't answer any of my questions."  
"I'm getting to it. I escaped easily through ventilation system, seeing as it is heat proof. When the base blew, I felt like a coward. My mission was not completed. I could not go back."  
"We wouldn't have cared if your mission were completed or not. It would've been easier for all of us just to know you were alright."  
Heero shook his head. "I didn't say I didn't think you'd take me in; I couldn't go back to that life knowing my hands were still bloody. So, like a coward, I escaped that life and came here." He turned and looked wistfully across the sapphire bay. "The sea knows no right or wrong, it is the cleanser of all the sins of the world."  
"Alright, now answer my final question: Why did you have to torture Duo? Why did you send him that note if you weren't going to return?"  
"Deep inside, I knew that Duo would be hurt somehow by my absence, but I could not bring myself to face him. I sent him that note as a way of telling him that he was still pure and could go on, while avoiding confrontation. Those eyes of his, I knew they'd draw me back. Back to a life I no longer wanted to live. Deserting him once was hard, doing it again would be harder."  
"So I guess that means you're not coming back with us."  
Heero again looked back to the water and nodded. "I've started a new life here. A life free from the battle field, free from any more ruthless massacres, free from all the sin I've brought to this world."  
"One question remains: How do you expect Duo return to a normal life while still unsure where, in Heaven and Earth, you are?"  
Heero pulled out a piece of paper and began writing feverishly on its flaxen surface. When he was finished, he folded it and gave it to Wufei. "Give him this and tell him you found it on the beach."  
Wufei began to object but quietly obeyed. "It was good to see you're alright, Heero."  
"Come back to the shop if you still need confirmation."  
  
*~*~*  
  
Wufei opened the door and climbed into the driver's side of his car. 'I hope Heero's plan works.'  
Duo looked back at him and forced a smile. "What took you so long?"   
Wufei inhaled slowly and exposed the note. "I found this on the beach. I think it's to you."  
The American pilot looked at it skeptically but opened it slowly and read the perfect handwriting.  
  
Duo ~  
If, by some odd twist of fate, you happen to find this, please promise me you'll never be sad. That's not the Duo I want on this Earth. Never give up faith, and know that I am finally at piece with this world and my own, restless heart.  
~ Heero  
  
Duo closed the note and smiled.   
"So?" Wufei inquired.  
"I'm just glad he's finally free... Wu-man."  
  
The End  
  
*~*~*  
  
(Phew) That was quite a challenge! I hope this didn't disappoint anyone (seeing as how I've never written a sequel to anything before, let alone bring a character back from 'the dead'). But please, review and tell me what you think! Comments, questions, and CONSTRUCTIVE criticisms will be appreciated and kindly addressed. Flames, however, will be used to roast marshmallows and make s'mores, m'kay? This is Cherubic Sasami, signing out.   
  



End file.
